DENVER — It was the middle of the night when Angela Waddell heard a noise coming from the bedroom where her niece was sleeping. Moments later, they woke up to a man trying to climb through the window.
"I don’t know if they were able to see that the window was cracked partially, but they removed the screen and within seconds raised the window and was halfway in the room," said Waddell.
The man took off after her niece's boyfriend confronted him, but it has left the Cherry Creek community on edge. The attempted break-in is just the latest incident her building, and a few streets over another complex is seeing a spike in crime.
Waddell moved to The Gardens at Cherry Creek for the location. She thought she would be safe and was willing to pay a little extra for that peace of mind.
Police records show at least nine incidents in that building since November ranging from burglary, larceny, and theft from vehicles. Waddell said several doors were kicked in around the end of last year.
Just a couple blocks away, the crime at Le Jardin has been escalating. A resident told Denver7 it started with someone cutting locks to storage units, then they returned and broke the storage units. Most recently someone took a stolen golf club to a car.
“It has been enough to catch people’s attention, and it’s important that people keep their eyes out," said Bill Tanner with the Cherry Creek East Association.
The neighborhood group is alarmed by the recent crime, and they're encouraging people to be vigilant.
A community meeting is scheduled for April 19 at Young American's Bank beginning at 6:00 p.m. A police officer will be attended the meeting to answer questions.